Media experts meet at EHF Know-how Forum

Media managers from Europe’s top clubs met in the Danish capital on 17/18 January 2014 to discuss a wide range of topics including brand communications, media management and the latest developments in social and digital media.

The forum was complemented by the opportunity to catch a top match from EHF EURO 2014, as Sweden took on Croatia for the top place in Group D.

Beyond the sports pages

Managing Director of Jung von Matt, Raphael Brinkert and his colleague, Toan Nguyen, presented case studies of their work in developing the German/Ghanaian football player, Hans Sarpei, from a modest football player into a social media sensation in Germany.

They presented their recent campaign for the German Football Association (DFB) and gave participants an exclusive look at some of their ideas for future campaigns.

The agency’s presentation also focused on the concepts of ‘native advertising’ and ‘perfect-minute-advertising’ to enable clubs to engage much more effectively with fans through their social media channels.

There followed a discussion led by handball journalist, Dietmar Geßner from German weekly magazine, SportBild, on the development of personalities in handball and what kind of stories the media are looking for around the stars of the game.

Role of the media manager

Former UEFA head of communications and now senior consultant with Leidar, Rob Faulkner, examined the role and tasks of the media manager in modern sport, focusing on specific examples from the UEFA EURO and UEFA Champions League.

How best to enable the media to work in the mixed zone and the future of the press conference in handball was a hot topic, with current experience from the EHF EURO and inputs from the recent innovation from FC Barcelona in the Asobal, which has seen the club open up the locker room to the media after matches.

Digital media revolution

Dejah Meldem, Digital Media Director of Infront Sports and Media, the EHF’s media and marketing partner for EHF EURO Events, rounded up the event a range of digital media best practice examples.

She presented examples from the London 2012 Olympic Games, UEFA events as well as the EHF EURO 2014 digital media project, developed jointly by the EHF and Infront, which has seen the launch of a new response website, mobile app and new social media channels.

Learning from best practice

Commenting on the success of the forum, EHF Head of Media and Communications, JJ Rowland, said: “This was a first for us, an opportunity to bring together handball’s media and communications specialists, to discuss the issues around our daily business, as well as to learn from best practice in the sports industry.

“The presentations we heard were exceptional, and I know that every one of us at the event has gone away with a huge amount of information and new ideas as to how we can better engage with our fans, especially through digital and social media.”

The event was attended by top clubs from the VELUX EHF Champions League, Women’s EHF Champions League and Men's EHF Cup, including FC Barcelona, PSG Handball and Larvik HK.

Further #ehfknowhow events are planned in the future, media profesionals should contact the EHF Media and Communications Department for further information.